Catholic Ping - please freepmail me if you want on/off this list
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Posted on 12/06/2004 5:50:24 AM PST by Land_of_Lincoln_John
When children who attend the McHenry County school gathered in the gym last week to brighten friends and parents with holiday cheer, they sang of lighting candles for Hanukkah, gave their rendition of a Jamaican folk song and even did their lists for Santa.
But their songs never mentioned Christ or the Christmas story--an omission that drew swift criticism from Christian groups pushing public schools to remember the meaning of Christmas.
"The reason for the season is Christmas," said Dave Smith, senior policy analyst for the Illinois Family Institute, a Christian organization. "At least some equal time would have been nice."
Officials at Spring Grove Elementary School said they were just trying to be more inclusive of all holiday traditions and cultures during concerts Wednesday and Thursday nights. Any overlooking of Christ and Christmas was inadvertent, they said.
"There wasn't anything to slight anybody," Principal John Druszczak said.
But a parent apparently disagreed and contacted the Illinois Family Institute about the holiday programs presented by the McHenry County elementary school, Smith said.
Smith put her in touch with Chicago lawyer Andy Norman, who said Friday that he has been involved in a nationwide fight to "save Christmas from" the American Civil Liberties Union.
(Excerpt) Read more at chicagotribune.com ...
At a Chrismas party?
Perhaps the best way to resolve this Christmas issue is for Christians to move their massive gift giving celebrations to New Year's Day and make Christmas religious holiday again.
And the reason the parent didn't discuss it with the school first???
And if the parent was in attendance, one presumes their child was performing so why didn't they know what songs were to be presented ahead of time? I always know what is going to be performed.
Sounds like over-reaction to me, especially with the comments from the school.
Catholic Ping - please freepmail me if you want on/off this list
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Named and FIRED?!
That's crazy.
Christmas wasn't always celebrated. It used to be thta it was only celebrated when it was on a Sunday. But I like your idea. Let's do it.
Silly, that's what "Boxing Day" is for.
Oh come on, they did make this Santa lists.....
I suppose your right... If my kids attended that school, why wouldn't I want them being led by ("Any overlooking of Christ and Christmas was inadvertent, they said.) liars.
Exactly, and deftly put.
It's like a party given in the name of Ronald Reagan — in a room decorated with pictures of Sam Donaldson, Jimmy Carter, Thomas Foley, Garry Trudeau, and Bryant Gumbel; and speeches honoring Carter's economic policies, Walter Mondale's life... and of course (why not?) Bill Clinton.
I guess to make it fit even better, you'd have to somehow persecute anyone who actually named or celebrated Ronald Reagan.
At the Reagan party.
Dan
Biblical Christianity web site
Biblical Christianity BLOG
To Tell the Truth, Virginia...
PLEASE leave it alone!
Well, if your child attended the school, I presume you would know ahead of time what the program would entail and would have made your thoughts on the matter known. If you were then informed that they prohibited Christmas songs that mention Jesus, THEN I would say you had a complaint.
So far you're over-reaction appears baseless and nasty (not the image I would guess you are seeking to present).
See also: Group wants end to 'Happy Holidays'
Anyone ever tell you where presumptions can lead? As for your judgement on my "over-reaction" May I suggest you remove the log in your own eye before attempting to remove the spec in mine.
It says it was the musical program, not a *Christmas party*.
The way it works is the kids take music at school and present a program to the parents.
That's it. If it is given during this time of year they do songs related to it.
At my daughter's school they split the younger grades up so some perform now and others in March. The older kids will be giving two concerts (we will attend this Thursday, and naturally I already know every song that will be played---band this year, not "just" singing).
"There wasn't anything to slight anyone" Say what?
IF THEY WANT TO OMIT CHRISTMAS, LET THEM. EVEN THOUGH IT IS A FEDERAL HOLIDAY, I FOR ONE, WOULD LIKE TO STOP PAYING TEACHERS FOR PAID HOLIDAYS THAT THEY REFUSE TO RECOGNIZE AND REFUSE TO TEACH THE CHILDREN. IT WOULD SAVE A LOT OF ARGUMENTS AND MONEY FOR ALL OF US. KEEP THE PARTIES AND CELEBRATIONS AT HOME.
So you would NOT be aware of what your child was learning at school?
OK, we've all noted that.
AMEN!
This is nothing new in this part of the world. My niece is 22, and when she was in grade school her public school -- in north central Illinois -- allowed kids to sing Hunnakah and Kwaanza songs, but banned Christmas carols.
And this is exactly why my children will never grace the doors of a public school. I am sorry, but this is so offensive to me. My oldest is only in Kindergarten, my younger not even in the school yet, but I am already eyeing potential Catholic high schools that are within reasonable driving distance. I had a monm approach me about this, her daughter attends public school and she is calls mother, she can help with the party, but under nno uncertain terms can "Santa Claus" be mentioned. Appalling. Thnakfully, in Good Shepherd Acamademy, Sants is talked about and displayed openely and Merry Christmas is not looked at as some sort of vulgar statement.
Why would a parent know what was going to be in the whole school's Christmas program? Sometimes one grade does one thing and another grade does another thing. Why would the parent of a first grader know or care about the songs that the fifth graders are performing? Until the night the whole production is put together?
I have no clue what songs are in the various musical productions that our children are doing in school. I have asked one of them, but she just smiles. I'm not at all concerned either. Last year's "holiday" program had all kinds of songs. You could tell which ones weren't traditional Christmas/Santa songs. Nobody knew them well.
Yet they gladly take a paid holiday in the spirit of religion quick enough. I'm sure it's in the Union Rulebook.
Better for a fool to keep her mouth shut, than to open it and remove all doubt. Oops, we've all noted it's too late.
Christian parents need to get enough guts and energy to pull their kids out of participating in noninclusive public Christmas programs. Then the schools can get a better look at who is left to "entertain the public" by playing and singing Frosty the Snowman and Hannukah songs.
This Christmas seems so much worse than ever. I have decide to take a stand, and not let my kids be used as props during the Christmas season in semi-multicultural secular "feel good" promotions.
No, this country is at least 76% Christian, could be up to 80% now.
Let the minorities juggle their holidays.
Christmas is for the majority of the population, and I'm tired as heck of bending over backwards for the minorities that don't like the way things are.
We shouldn't have to change the way it is. It will just be something else they don't like, and we'll have to kowtow again.
Ridiculous. I'm all in favour of inclusion of other peoples' traditions and religiions - Hanukka etc (although I've got my doubts about the made up holiday of Kwanza), but shutting out the traditions and religion of the majority is silly. I grew up in a place (Nova Scotia, mostly) and era (born in '67) where the culture was pretty homogeneous and there was never really any question about the appropriateness of having a Christmas pageant with the Christmas story and songs, including the religious ones. Certainly I never heard my father say anything against it, and he was quite agnostic. But today we've got all these twits who are determined not to offend anyone of a different belief, despite not having any idea what they might find offensive or not.
Nicely done!
LOL
My posts are most sensible.
Article title: "School's inclusive Christmas excludes Christ"
From the article: "When children who attend the McHenry County school gathered in the gym last week to brighten friends and parents with holiday cheer, they sang of lighting candles for Hanukkah, gave their rendition of a Jamaican folk song and even did their lists for Santa."
My point stands.
Dan
Well, I am able to get the program ahead of time. The point is, if a parent is concerned that a school is banning certain Christmas songs, they have an opportunity to address it. This story sounds like the school did not prohibit such yet the parent went running to some organization to complain.
Fight now before it is too late. Look what happened to the Jews in WWII. It started with small things, as it always does, and if those are tolerated then it escalates.
Just FYI, my daughter attends public school and typical songs presented at this time of year include Silent Night, Away in a Manger, Joy to the World, in addition to the Santa songs and such.
Oh, yes there was, Mr. Druszczak. You slighted Christians, and it had to be done on purpose. That's obvious.
Try that with Muslims and see how far you get. Next thing you know, you would wind up in a gutter with your head sawn half off and a Fatwa letter impaled into your chest with a dagger!
As does mine. The school did not say they banned mention of Christ and so to cast this in with stories of schools that prohibit such does not seem right to me.
I was thinking that parents could tell their kids that gifts are postponed for a week. Sugar-coat this by telling them that they could get more because items would be on sale after Christmas. Then we celebrate Christmas with church services and, as Jesus lived, by giving the gift of service to others, whether it is our job or helping in 'soup kitchens, etc.
Wouldn't this make a mess of heathens who want to celebrate Dec 25th without Christ? They would be giving gifts on a religious holiday without any religious reason. What happens to the Christmas stories and songs that emphasize gift giving? If this caught on, what would happen to the retail market? Total confusion?
This would REALLY put Christ back into Christmas --- the reason for the season. Sadly, I'm NOT a salesman nor leader.
Yes, the door is wide open to anyone who wants to leave this country. No one is forcing them to stay here.
Merry Christmas to you too!
It's my constant refrain now in stores, and to those who man the Salvation Army collection buckets.
No Happy Holidays for me this year, or the last few years in fact.
I can see why it seems like a good idea, and in a different time it might have been.
However, it would be viewed as one more concession to the minorities and the ACLU that want things their way.
No concessions any longer!
We have become a nation of easily offended whiners,refusing to take resposibilities for our actions, refusing to leave other people alone.
It is interesting that for every atheist, pagan or Muslim that may be offended by
Christmas activiies in a school, a hundred Christians, Jews are even more so when these activities are curtailed.
Multiculturalists are out of touch with reality. And in their ideologically-induced dementia, they are in reality, aiding and abeting in the destruction of the very concepts that built America. If we think of our nation as a club, and which like all clubs, was formed based upon a perceived "need", we can more clearly see and understand that multiculturalism is anathema to the ability of the club to exist.
The perceived 'need' gives rise to purpose and reason. And purpose and reason give rise to principles, law, and culture. Using Free Republic as an example, its' founders peceived a need for this forum to serve as a place in which like-minded but otherwise different, "Constitutionalist" Americans could come together to discuss, receive validation, and to formulate resolutions and resistance {purpose and reason} to the ongoing political and cultural problems here in America. Posting guidelines {laws and principles} were conceived of in order to preserve the "purpose and reason" for the existence of FR. In time, a cohesive culture of sorts was formed by FR's membership.
To make sense of the damage multiculturalists are doing to 'club America," we can visualize what would happen to FR if its owners were forced by PC relativists to 'stand down' on their guidelines, principles, etc., in order to become 'inclusive" so as to allow ideologues who hate FR to post in it, but to do so on their own terms. Anarchy would ensue and FR would self-destruct. It would quickly become a war-zone.....a foul-mouthed, violence and chaos haunted no-man's land. And that's exactly what is already occuring in various, and ever-growing pockets of America as illegals, cultural-Marxists (radical homosexuals, feminists, activist atheists, etc) globalist judges, etc. ignore 'club' America's founding principles, culture, and rule of law in order to do what they want on their own terms.
However, Santa made their list. I guess it's easy to forget about the Son of the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob when you have a headliner like Santa Claus.
Put Christ back into Christ, save the gifts for New Year's Day.
I disagree -- I think they just have a different reality, to obliterate the American culture that's been here for decades/centuries. The people behind all this diveristy stuff know exactly what they are doing.
Diversity is just another form of communism -- an old fasioned power struggle disguised as a fanatical attempt to make everything "equal" and "fair" by suppressing and wiping out the dominant group.
Why?
Why should the majority change?
Well, in a way it would give the crybabies what they deserve.
We could stretch out Christmas for a whole week.
Maybe a week of celebrations, with the quiet of Christmas Eve and Christmas day, and then Boxing Day the next day, we could figure out names for the rest of the week up to New Year's Eve, so in a way it would make them madder.
But I still say, we leave it alone, and make the minorities and ACLU knuckle under.
" they sang of lighting candles for Hanukkah,"
Why the fear of upsetting the Jews, but no fear of upsetting the Christians?
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